Equestria Crimes: Fillydelphia

by RayzalKick

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Tragedy, Dark
Length: 10449

Vinyl Scratch: undercover cop.

Vinyl Scratch: part-time DJ, full-time detective. She lives in her hometown of Fillydelphia, working for the FPD (Fillydelphia Police Department), arresting robbers, drug lords, etc. Because, that's here job, isn't it? She's taken down gangs before, but nothing like the Red Cardinals, the Blue Jays and the Green Hummingbirds. For years now, these three rival gangs pretty much ran Fillydelphia. They're also wanted for smuggling drugs over the Equestrian borders, armed robberies, the list goes on.

To take down these three criminal organizations, Vinyl must befriend them to end the Cardinals', Jays' and the Hummingbirds' schemes. It's a risky mission, but she's up for the task. But, could befriending the three gangs be harmful to her friends and family? Can she stay loyal to the badge? Or will her father's genes turn her into a whole new mare?

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-04-23 23:56:30 UTC

Chapter 1: Vinyl Scratch: Undercover Cop

The alarm clock went off in Vinyl’s room. The noise buzzed loudly and bounced about the room. She reached over and hit the snooze button. Her eyes were barely open, yet she can smash the snooze button every morning. It pretty much became a daily routine. She managed to open her eyes a bit to see the time. “6:15am” it read. She really didn’t want to get up that morning, but she knew Chief Heybale would have her head if she was late again.

Vinyl picked herself up and she just sat there on her bed and rubbed her eyes, trying to wake herself up. She looked to her left, then to her right. She saw her blue curtains which were blocking out the outside world. The sound of rain could be heard hitting the windows. She slipped out of bed and staggered over to the window. With her magic, she pulled the curtains apart to see that the city was gray with fog and rain. The sun was barely getting through the thick layer of clouds, making the city dark.

“Another miserable day,” Vinyl mumbled, still half asleep.

She walked to her mirror. She looked at herself and saw that her mane was a mess. She picked up the hair brush that was sitting on the desk and started to brush her mane. The floating brush tamed her hair to one side and a little to the other. After she thought it was good enough, she walked out of her room and into the bathroom down the short hallway to take a shower. She fiddled with the nozzles on her bathtub to fit the water temperature most comfortable for her. This became a part of her daily routine as well.

Vinyl walked out of her bathroom ten minutes later feeling more clean, but still sleepy. She wished she was still on her vacation so she can just sleep through the morning.

Her calendar said the day was Monday, one of her least favorite days of the week, next to Sunday. She always hated Mondays. She had to start a new week of work and for some reason, it always rained.

The warm shower water dripped from her mane and tail which left a trail from the bathroom to her kitchen. She toke out some bread and stuck two pieces into the toaster. As she waited for the toast to be ready, she got out a cup from the cupboard and started too rummaged through her fridge to find the jug of orange juice. She toke it out and filled the cup only half way when she noticed she ran out. She just chucked it in the trash. The trash started to smell bad. Vinyl meant to take out the trash yesterday, but never got around to it, most likely from her laziness on weekends.

The toast popped out of the toaster and Vinyl toke them out and placed them on a plate, which she toke to the living room and placed onto the folding table she had in front of the couch. She placed the plate and the glass of juice onto the table and plopped herself down on the couch and flicked on the TV. The channel was set on the local news broadcast “Fillydelphia News.”

“Hello, this is ‘Fillydelphia News,’ I’m Reeda Porter,” the Unicorn mare on the TV started. “The Crystal Empire is close to finishing its rebuilding after the attack by their former leader, King Sombra one month ago.”

“Ugh! Cover something new, will yah!?” Vinyl shouted at her TV. She fell back in her spot and munched on some toast. She’s been getting real irritated with the news lately. All they cover is that Crystal Empire stuff. “Nopony cares anymore!” She noticed herself becoming more stressed lately as well. Of course you’d be stressed, too if you had to arrest your own father! But, then again, he left her and her mother before she was even born and he was Fillydelphia’s most wanted. And it was her job to take down dirty rats like him; even if it was her own father.

Vinyl flicked to the weather channel.

“And it appears that it’s going to rain all week, so try to stay dry, Fillydelphia,” the weather pony said.

“Well, that sucks,” Vinyl mumbled, drinking some of her orange juice.

Suddenly, the phone rang. She already knew who it was before she read the number on the phone.

“Yello,” Vinyl answered.

“Good morning, Vinyl!” It was her best friend, Octavia, calling from Canterlot.

The two ponies met in college when they were taking music courses in Ponyville. They were roommates and didn’t really get along. Every time Octavia tried to practice her cello, Vinyl would be blasting her music that even the dorms on the other end of campus could hear. That would sometimes attract the other students and Vinyl would just start a party right there in their dorm. And every time, not only Vinyl, but even Octavia would get in trouble with the dean. Their punishment was one week of detention. The two of them can’t remember how they became best friends, or how they even became friendly in the first place. After college, Octavia moved back to her hometown, Canterlot and Vinyl stayed in Ponyville for a bit until moving back to her hometown of Fillydelphia.

“Hey Octy,” Vinyl mumbled.

“I see you’re waking up,” Octavia said.

“Hey, you know me: can’t wake up until I’ve had my morning coffee,” Vinyl said.

“Say, I have a favor to ask,” Octavia said.

“Shoot,” Vinyl replied, taking another bite of her toast.

“Well, I’m going into town in a couple weeks. You think I can stay at your place?” Octavia asked.

“I don’t see why not.”

“Great! Thank you so much. I can’t stand Jonathan’s snoring. We’re apparently all sharing the same room and, well, I like my privacy.”

“I hear yah there,” Vinyl agreed.

She looked back over to the TV and the time it presented on screen was “6:30am.” Her eyes widened. “Ah damn! Octy, I’ll talk to yah tonight!” Vinyl hung up the phone immediately. She was gonna be late again if she didn’t leave now. She dried her hair as fast as possible, put her sweater on, picked up her police badge and bolted out the door and to the elevator down the hall. She pressed the button that read “L” for lobby.

“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon,” Vinyl grumbled to herself, not being able to stand still.

The doors opened and she speed walked through the lobby and out the door. That weather pony wasn’t lying about the rain. It was pouring and still pretty dark from the thick clouds and fog. Hell, she couldn’t see across the street. She put her hood up and started down the busy street. The downpour was getting her wet. Luckily, the precinct was only two blocks away from her apartment building.

She stopped by the local coffee shop on the way to buy a cup of coffee.

“Well, Well, if it isn’t Vinyl Scratch,” the clerk called from behind the counter as Vinyl entered the small building.

“Hey there, Donut Joe,” she replied. “Give me the usual.”

Joe nodded and went out back to pour some coffee into a paper cup. He came back ten seconds later with a medium black coffee. The steam rose from the tiny hole in the lid.

“Thanks Joe,” she said, leaving the place.

Joe chuckled to himself. “Good kid. Forgot her change, though. Ahh whatever.” He put the coins in his pocket.

Vinyl pushed open the doors to the precinct. It was really warm inside, warmer than usual. She put her hood down and pulled out her police badge from inside her hoodie. The badge dangled from her neck, swaying back and forth as she walked.

“Morning detective,” the secretary beamed.

“Hey Tracey,” Vinyl replied, not stopping.

Tracey followed Vinyl to her office. She sat down in her chair, placed her coffee down on her desk and opened the top drawer. She pulled out a 9mm pistol and placed it on her desk alongside her coffee.

“I trust your vacation was relaxing,” Tracey said.

“I guess so,” Vinyl mumbled, looking at the clock on the wall.

Tracey walked up to Vinyl’s desk and placed her hoofs on the table. “Look, I know it’s rough now,” she started, “but everything will be fine.”

Vinyl sighed deeply. “It’s not that. I let Robin Green get away. He could be anywhere by now and it’s all my fault.”

There was a sudden knock on the door. The chief was standing in the doorway, holding a file in his mouth. A mixture of anger and worry were on his face.

“Chief,” Tracey started.

He walked over and threw the file onto the desk, the papers inside spread across the desk. The folder was named “Suspect #073520- Green, Robin.”

“Green’s files?” Vinyl examined the picture of the dirty criminal.

“Green robbed his first bank in over a week last night,” Chief Haybale explained. “So, we know he hasn’t left the city.”

“What a dumbass,” Vinyl said, chuckling shortly after.

“Unfortunately, it was an armed robbery. Four ponies were shot and they’re now in hospital,” Haybale went on.

“That’s horrible,” Tracey said, covering her mouth in shock.

“We got word that his current hideout is in the old newspaper factory on 6th St., heavily guarded.”

Vinyl thought for a moment. Why wouldn’t Green just run off somewhere else instead of just staying here? Was he really that stupid, or did he have some unfinished business to take care of first? “So, what’s the plan?”

“Well actually, I was thinking of sending you in, detective.” Haybale and Tracey stared at her.

“Well then,” Vinyl leaned out of her chair with a smirk on her face and picked up her gun with her magic, “let’s catch us a dumbass.”

Chapter 2: Let's Catch Us A Dumbass

Vinyl pulled up to the abandoned newspaper factory on 6th St. The factory used to hold the place where Fillydelphia’s newspapers were printed. But Fillydelphia stopped their local paper after Equestria Daily arrived in the city and other places like, Baltimare and Las Pegasus.

She pulled the intercom from her dashboard toward herself and put pressure down on a button on the side with her magic and said, “Dispatch, This is detective Scratch, 10-20: I’m at 35 6th St. Have units standing by, over.”

The intercom crackled a bit before another voice came over it, “Roger that detective. We’ve had multiple reports of gunfire coming from the facility, so proceed with caution, over.”

“10-4.” Vinyl put the intercom back on the dashboard and exited here vehicle. Her car wasn’t anything fancy, just a 2012 Silverwing she’s borrowing from the company. It was colored completely black.

She approached the old building, looking at the old bricks and boarded up windows which were smashed under the wooden planks. Vinyl could see why Green chose this place for a new safe house. She went around the building to a door up a tiny staircase.

“This is detective Scratch, I’m about to enter the safe house. Have units ready to raid the place, over.”

“10-4. Proceed with caution.” The radio crackled.

Vinyl toke a deep breath and pushed open the door. The door leads her to a hallway with some of Green’s grunts inside. Some of them were talking back and forth when they looked up to see her. Two were sitting on a couch. One of them, who was taking a bong hit, looked up to stare at her with red eyes and a weird expression. One of the ponies stopped her.

“Hey, where do you think you’re go-“

Vinyl cut him off. “I’m Vinyl Scratch. I’m supposed to meet with Greenback.”

The pony looked at her suspiciously and let her go. The other ponies still looked at her. Vinyl felt a little uncomfortable while walking down the hallway. Not nervous, uncomfortable. Yet, her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, she could hear it. Voices could be heard from the hallway that seemed to go on forever, even though it was really short. She turned the corner to see a widescreen TV and a game system set up with it. Two ponies were sitting on the ground playing a sports game. Another pony, a Unicorn, was sitting on the couch watching them.

“Hey boss, you want a go?” one of them asked, motioning the controller towards him.

“Naw man,” he replied.

The other pony chuckled. “Ha! You jus’ suck at the game, boss.”

“Hey man, shut the hell up,” he snapped.

“Still as stupid and mean as ever, eh Greenback?” Vinyl asked, alerting the three ponies. The two playing the game stood up and pulled their guns out.

“Well, if it isn’t Vinyl Scratch!” Greenback laughed and looked back at the others. “Relax, she’s my niece.” He turned back to face Vinyl. “So, did yah finally come around?”

“I’m actually here on official business,” Vinyl said, pulling out her police badge. She held it up with her magic so Greenback could see. The badge read “FPD” for “Fillydelphia Police Department.”

The other two ponies pointed their pistols at her. Greenback signaled them to lower their weapons, so they did what they were told.

“So listen Greenback-“

“Hey, what happened to calling me ‘Uncle Greenback?’” he asked, putting a hoof on her shoulder. She shrugged it off.

“Where’s Robin Green?” she demanded.

Greenback shrugged. “Hell, I don’t know. He left early this morning.”

“When? Where?”

“I dunno.”

Vinyl pulled her gun up to Greenback’s forehead. The two ponies once again raised their weapons and pointed them in her direction. “You do know, so tell me!” She was growing impatient.

“So this is how it is, huh? After all I’ve done for you. I practically raised you!!”

“Well, you did a crap job at doing so,” Vinyl protested. She nudged the gun closer to his head so it poked him, “Now tell me: where is Robin Green!?”

Greenback didn’t say a word. His anger was growing inside of him. He suddenly slapped the gun out of Vinyl’s magic’s grasp and it slid across the floor and Greenback pushed her down to the floor.

“Kill her!” he shouted.

The two ponies open fired and Vinyl rolled behind the couch to take cover from the flying bullets.

“11-99! This is officer Scratch! I’m currently under fire,” she cried.

The radio hidden on the inside collar of her hoodie crackled. “10-4 detective, we’re moving in,” then it crackled out.

Vinyl didn’t have much of a choice, so she pulled the pistol towards her, loaded it and prepared herself for a gunfight. She looked over the top of the couch and the two ponies started to open fire again. She immediately ducked and the stuffing from the couch flew up in the sir. She toke a deep breath and stood up and shot off two bullets, both connecting with here foes. They fell back, one going through the TV, getting electrocuted. She looked around the room.

“Dammit, where’d he go?” she mumbled to herself, wondering where Greenback retreated to.

She noticed the ponies in the previous hallway running down towards her. “Oh crap.” She ran into the door on the other side of the room which lead her to a curving flight of stairs going up and down.

“He probably went down stairs,” Vinyl guessed. She ran down, gun ready and herself ready for whatever defence Greenback threw at her. She was also looking up the stairs to see if the other ponies were coming. They luckily weren’t.

When Vinyl made it all the way down, she encountered a door. It was slightly open and she heard familiar shouting coming from it. She loaded her pistol and burst through the door, seeing three ponies out in the open. She open fired on them and each one dropped like a sack of potatoes. The room was big and held big squares of money in Equestrian dollars wrapped in plastic and stacked on top of each other. There were probably thousands of dollars in this one rom. The room was most likely used as the place to print out the newspapers for Fillydelphia back then.

Vinyl immediately toke cover behind a giant stacked pile. She peaked around the corner to see where the rest were. A bullet hit the side of the money stack just centimeters away from her face. She returned to her position and decided to look around the other corner. She peered around it and saw one of Greenback’s men talking with him. Greenback noticed her and yelled, “There she is! Get rid of her!”

Vinyl immediately toke a shot and the pony fell to the ground before he had a chance to shoot. Vinyl then shot at Greenback, who was running through a door in the back of the room, but she missed and hit the wall beside him. She dashed and slid behind another square pile of money for cover. Her targets other were visible and she started to shoot. She hit one in the shoulder and he fell to the ground with a yelp of pain and holding his shoulder. She missed the others. She shot off more bullets and this time they made impact, one in the chest and the other’s forearm.

She made her way down to the door as she noticed that there were no more grunts to slow her down. Loading her pistol, she got ready for another wave of Green Hummingbirds coming her way. She burst through the door and came in contact with two other ponies open firing at her. Each bullet missed and Vinyl shot off her gun and hit them. They fell to the ground, dead from being shot in the chest.

Vinyl noticed there were no more of the gang members left. All there was was a blue dumpster at the very end of the small room. She walked over to it, opened it with her pistol ready and saw Greenback cowering in it with the garbage bags and whatever was in it.

“My father gave you everything,” Vinyl said, holding her gun the dumpster lid up with her magic, “and you tried to kill him.”

“H-hey now,” Greenback started, “He-he betrayed us! Gave out all our secrets to the other gangs. We had no other choice, he was a mole!”

Behind Vinyl, one of the gang members struggled to stand, and when he regained some balance, he picked up his pistol and aimed for her head. Vinyl was oblivious. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, he was shot in the head. Vinyl immediately looked behind her and was in shock to see the pony fall to the ground with a bullet wound in the back of his head. She looked down to the door and saw a Pegasus with a red coat and brown mane and tail and two other Earth Ponies, both in blue police uniforms standing there looking around the room, guns drawn. The Pegasus stared at Vinyl with a pleased look on her face.

“You did well, detective,” she said, looking down upon her victim.

Vinyl sighed with relief. “Lieutenant Scarlet.” She smiled.

“Oh my, oh my, what have you done?” Scarlet asked, walking down to the dumpster which still held Greenback. She stopped in front of Vinyl.

“It’s about friggin’ time you got here,” Vinyl scolded.

“Sorry we delayed, those buggers out back were waiting for us,” Scarlet explained.

“Or probably waiting for me,” Vinyl suggested.

Scarlet looked down at Greenback, who was sitting in last night’s pizza and now had his front hooves up in the air, waiting to be arrested.

“They’re pretty pathetic, aren’t they?” Scarlet looked over to Vinyl who was looking off toward the door.

“Yeah… pathetic,” she agreed thoughtfully.

Scarlet chuckled and patted Vinyl on the shoulder. “Go out back, detective. Haybale wants to see yah. We’ll take everything from here.”

Vinyl nodded and exited the room. Scarlet told the two uniformed police ponies to call for the ER to come pick up the bodies.

The next room over was filled with police officers, detectives and ponies from the ER, escorting the Green Hummingbirds gang members out of the building and collecting the giant stacks of money that filled the room and any other evidence they found. Other grunts were being pulled out on stretchers. The chief saw her walking along and he approached her.

“Hey, detective,” he said.

She turned to him. “Oh, hey chief, I was lookin’ for yah.”

“I’ve come by to say congratulations on catching your ‘dumbass’,” he started, “and I need you to come back to the precinct.”

Vinyl was confused. “What? Why?”

Haybale shook his head slowly and tried to explain it to her, “No, no, no, nothin’ bad, it actually has something to do with the three major crime syndicates we’re trying to track down.”

“Look, you gonna tell me or not?”

“Just c’mon. There’s somepony I want you to meet.”

Chapter 3: Joining Forces

Vinyl followed Chief Haybale and Lt. Scarlet into the chief’s office. Vinyl still couldn’t figure out who chief was talking about. Throughout the entire car ride back to the headquarters he nor would Scarlet say anything.

Chief Haybale led Vinyl and Scarlet into his office. There was another pony inside wearing sunglasses and a trench coat, a pony Vinyl remembered.

“Vinyl, you remember Harry Tail, right?” Haybale asked, raising his hoof to Harry from behind his desk and then sitting down in his chair.

Harry Tail, Earth Pony, is part of the EBI (Equestrian Bureau of Investigation) and helped out in the case to track down and arrest Ratchet Scratch- Vinyl’s father. Vinyl and Harry infiltrated Ratchet’s night club and after a huge gunfight through the club, they finally found him in his little board room. At the time, Ratchet was in charge of the Green Hummingbirds until Vinyl arrested him the week before.

“Nice to see you again, detective, I’m sure you’re doing well,” Harry guessed.

“You know me: arresting perps and DJ’n and stuff,” Vinyl replied with a shrug.

Harry just laughed and patted her on the shoulder, “Some ponies never change. That’s why I like you.” He toke out a folder from inside his trench coat and laid it out on the chief’s desk. It was labeled: “Case #059: The Cardinal’s Nest.”

“The hell’s this?” Vinyl asked, looking at the folder on the desk.

“This,” Harry put his hoof on the folder, “is all the info we have on the Red Cardinals.”

Vinyl huffed, “We have enough info on them. And we’re supposed to find Green, remember?”

“Ok Miss Holmes, maybe I should just go home, maybe vacation in Ponyville, sightsee or something, because, it looks like you’ve got the whole case figured out, is that right?” Harry smirked.

“Would I be here if I did? Educate me,” Vinyl said.

“Alright, for the past 26 years, Ratchet Scratch was in charge of one of Fillydelphia’s top crime syndicates, The Green Hummingbirds.”

Vinyl cut in, “I know this too well, I grew up with them.”

“Yes, and as you know, he had connections; connections to other gangs. And one of these gangs was the Red Cardinals.

“Wait, wait, wait… My dad had connections to the Cardinals?”

“See, you don’t know squat,” Harry said. “Anyway, yes he did have connections with them; for the past 10 years actually. According to our spies, they have a new pony in power, Robin Green. They said he still has connections with the Cardinals and that he goes to several meet ups with them in different parts of the city, just like your father did. The spies gave us this info before their covers were blown and were shot dead.”

“Oh my,” Lt. Scarlet mumbled.

Harry turned his head towards her, “Oh my is right, and unless we stop them, they’re gonna do worse. These three gangs are big enough and rich enough to come on by uninvited and take over this whole building!”

Vinyl stepped in once more, “Oh come on they can’t really do that, right?” She looked at Harry, who gave her a serious look. She turned to Scarlet and then Haybale. “Right?” Vinyl’s voice and expression became worrisome.

“It’s quite possible,” Haybale confirmed sadly.

“But they most likely won’t,” Harry said. “Anyway, we need a new spy, somepony who can get shit done and not be detected easily and I’m thinkin’ you detective.” He pointed his hoof at her.

Vinyl just stood there. “So, you want me to go and join the Red Cardinals? So what, do I get anypony else to help me?”

“I’m afraid not. This is a one pony job and plus if there were to be multiple ponies joining the Cardinals all at once, it’d be too obvious.”

“No support, huh?” Vinyl walked over to Haybale’s desk and sat in the seat across from him. She shook her head and sighed, “I dunno, man.”

“C’mon Scratch, you’re our best detective. And it’s the only way,” Scarlet urged.

“Listen Scratch, you wanna take down these gangs? Do what Tail says. And that’s an order,” Haybale exclaimed.

Vinyl sighed. “Where do I sign up?”

“Excellent,” Harry said happily. “Now let’s get down to business.”

He walked over to the folder on the desk, opened it and spread the photos and paperwork onto the desk. The other three officers joined him and gathered around the desk.

“The Red Cardinals are the city’s main drug dealing syndicate and runs 75% of the stores in the 2nd District, mainly pharmacies. And as you know, they’re a shadowy organization, leadership unknown. But, we’re curtain one of their usual meeting spots is in an underground parking lot on Skyward St. in the 2nd District. Reports say that the pony that usually meets up with Scratch there is named: Hella Fire, formally known as, Applestreak- used to be related to the famed Apple Family in Ponyville and throughout the country before he seceded from the family and changed his name and joined the Cardinals- sad story really, he should write a book. Anyway, he meets up with Green now, so go meet Hella Fire at the underground parking lot I mentioned before he does, try to get all the info he has out of him without your cover getting blown, and make sure you gain his trust.”

Vinyl nodded. “Alright, I got it.”

Lt. Scarlet picked up the folder and gave it to Vinyl. “Better hold on to this.”

Vinyl toke it, unzipped her hoodie about halfway, put it in and zipped it back up. She nodded once more before heading out the door.

“Hey,” Harry called, “you be careful now. I don’t want you dying on me.”

She chuckled, “You guys worry too much. I’ll be fine. You can count on me.”

Harry sighed and rubbed his head. “I need a smoke.” He left the room after Vinyl.

She made her way through the office where many police ponies were working on computers or whatever. Her friend Tracey stopped her before she made it to the elevator to go down to the garage.

“Vinyl, there you are,” she said in her usual happy voice. “How’d the meeting go? You have a new case?”

“Yeah, but I’d rather keep it to myself,” Vinyl said.

“Oh OK. So, did you arrest Green today?”

“No,” Vinyl sighed. “But, we did manage to get Greenback in custody. He’s in questioning right now.”

“Oh, well that’s good,” Tracey replied.

Vinyl pushed the elevator button on the wall. “Yeah, let’s hope he talks. If not, I’ll make the bugger talk.”

Vinyl entered the elevator when the doors opened. She pushed the button that read “B1” with her hoof and nodded a final time to Tracey before the doors closed, separating the two mares.

The elevator toke Vinyl to the garage, where she would go to pick up her car. But not before going into her locker. She turned the dial on her lock to three different numbers: 3-17-20 to unlock it. The lock unlocked with a kachunk and the door opened with a squeak, a familiar squeak she hears every time she opens her rusty old locker. Inside was a spare pair of sun glasses she wears when she goes out to clubs on weekends to play music, some spare ammo for any emergencies and a baseball cap for when it’s summer- except its autumn now. And taped on her locker door is a picture of Octavia and herself at the Canterlot Royal Wedding. She had a great time there, playing the music as that purple Unicorn sang that song as the bride and groom left in that carriage- but not so much getting over that hangover the day after. Luckily, Octavia let her stay the rest of the week before she went back to Fillydelphia to resume her duties as officer.

“Well, wish me luck, Octy,” Vinyl sighed, taking some of her extra ammunition and putting them in her pocket. “It’s gonna be one tough mission. I have to pretend I’m joining the Red Cardinals, that’s how tough it is.” Vinyl started to be sarcastic, but then she stared at the picture for a good 10 seconds.

“See you in a couple weeks, I guess,” she said to the photo, closing her locker door and heading to the garage.

Chapter 5: Lady's Night Out

1 week later…

“Alright, alright! I’m done! Please, leave me alone,” Ice Breaker pleaded breathless, his forearms up over his head as he sat on the dusty floor of the warehouse.

Vinyl stood over him, pointing her gun at his head. She didn’t know what to do with him.

“Let me go, o-or hell, put me in the brink or somethin’, just don’t kill me!

This guy really wanted to live, didn’t he? She had no pity against him, but killing him would get the FPD nowhere on where the rest of his gang lay in wait. But that wasn’t her problem at the moment.

“No! Wai-“ BLAM!

Ice Breaker’s body fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. The blood formed a puddle under his head and streamed down from the hole in his forehead. His eyes were wide and his jaw dropped. Vinyl gave the corpse a disgusted look and she looked away.

She took out her cell phone and punched in numbers. “Yeah, Scarlet? I found Ice Breaker. He’s dead.”

“Dead!? God dammit, Vinyl! We needed him alive!”

“Hey! I couldn’t do a thing! He shot himself before I could react!”

“He what?? Damn…”

“So, what’d you want me to do?”

“Just sit tight; I’ll get some paramedics on the scene.”

The rest of Vinyl’s day had been rough. Being scolded by Scarlet for letting Ice Breaker “kill” himself, not being able to talk to Tracey about it since she’s buried under a mountain of paperwork, no paycheck because of what happened, and she didn’t even get her morning coffee! This day couldn’t get any worse, she thought.

Vinyl toke a seat on the couch when she got home that evening. She didn’t want to do anything, just sit down, forget the day ever happened and watch her favorite TV show: CSI: Manehattan. She enjoyed shows that were related to her job since she can relate. Plus, she always enjoyed a good action. She flipped to channel 9: ETV. The prologue had already started and she recognized it. A rerun, but she didn’t mind. She’d already seen every episode.

There was a sudden knock on the door which almost made her jump in her spot. Vinyl turned to the door in confusion.

“A visitor? Who’d visit me?” Vinyl thought aloud. Nobody buzzed in, nor was she expecting.

She peered through the tiny circle window in the door. No one was there. She unhooked the chain and unlocked the door and pulled it open. Nothing. She heard a giggle, and then someone immediately jumped around the corner and wrapped their arms around her.

“Surprise!!” the pony exclaimed, taking Vinyl by surprise.

Vinyl saw some luggage and the cello case in the hall and knew who it was.

“Octy!” Vinyl returned the embrace. “Geez, you’re… early.”

Octavia let her go. “Hehe, yeah, I should’ve called ahead, but I wanted to surprise you! So, surprise!”

Vinyl didn’t care. She was just glad that her best friend was in town; probably the best thing to happen to her all day. She happily let Octavia in, taking her luggage and cello. Octavia entered the living room, only to a sight of dirty clothes, food stains in the carpet flooring and a terrible stench. It was a mess.

“So uhh, this is your…” Her voice trailed off.

Vinyl came up behind her, the bag in her mouth and struggling to hold up the cello on her back. She saw her friend examining the room and she immediately dropped everything to the floor with a loud thud and took to Octavia’s side.

“You know it!” she exclaimed with her arm around her friend’s shoulder. “My humble abode, mi casa, hvorfor er du oversette dette, home sweet home, my-“

“I think I get it,” Octavia cut in, pulling away from Vinyl’s grasp.

“Oh!” Vinyl just realized something. “I’ll lead you to your room!”

Vinyl pulled Octavia down the hall, leaving her baggage behind. Vinyl dragged her friend past her room and into the small room next-door. There was a bed to the left-hoof corner and a mirror on the other side of the room. It seemed quite nice, Octavia thought. She wandered in and twirled around to view all corners of it. There was a peculiar stench, but nothing too bad. Better than the living room at least.

“Well?” Vinyl was eager to hear a response. A positive response.

“It’s nice,” Octavia answered in her light Canterlot accent.

“Yes!” Vinyl whispered to herself. She always thought Octavia wasn’t like other Canterlot folks. She’s nice, caring and doesn’t always care for fashion. All she wears is that pink bowtie to every occasion. She wasn’t wearing it that day, however. Though it did suit her, Vinyl thought.

Octavia took a seat on the bed, which to her surprise, was very soft. She fell back and she sank into the mattress.

“And this is my room?” Octavia asked, which sounded surprising.

“You got it! This is the best room in the apartment and its right next to the bathroom.”

Octavia’s ears perked up. “By the way, may I use it? I need to freshen up.”

“Oh, of course, it’s just through that door there.” Vinyl pointed to a closed door outside of the room.

Octavia bowed her head in gratitude and walked past Vinyl, but not before turning to her. “Oh and Vinyl, could you be a dear and take my luggage to my room.”

Vinyl sighed. She wasn’t too enthusiastic about that idea, especially with that really heavy violin thing. She grabbed Octavia’s stuff in the hall and hauled them down to the guest room. She threw the bag on the bed and was about to put the cello down when a sudden shriek of terror carried out across the apartment which seemed to be coming from the bathroom.

“Octy!?”

Vinyl dropped the instrument and ran next door to check out the commotion. Octavia was standing on the toilet, screaming at a little insect- a cockroach- scurrying all over the floor.

“Vinyl, Help! Kill it! Kill it!” She pleaded, tears in her eyes.

Vinyl couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s just a cockroach, Octy. It won’t kill yah,” She explained, crushing the insect with her hoof. “These little buggers are all over the building.”

When Vinyl looked back up, she could see that Octavia was not impressed. She’s only been here for five minutes and she’s already regretting it. She would rather be sharing a hotel room with her band right now. She’d choose Jonathan’s snoring over a disgusting cockroach any day.

“Alright, alright, I know it’s not what you expected, but I was meaning to clean it up this week.”

“Yeah? When, the night before I showed up??” Octavia stepped down from the toilet.

“Look, I’m sorry, alright? But, you’re the one who showed up unexpected.”

Vinyl saw that Octavia didn’t want to start an argument, and as much as she wanted to chew her friend out for this, she held back, not wanting to start anything either.

“Alright, alright. How about I make it up to yeah?” Vinyl suggested.

Octavia definitely wanted to hear this one.

“There’s this restaurant downtown. Wonderful. How about I take you there for dinner, huh?”

Octavia liked the sound of that. But, she wasn’t sure if Vinyl meant some fast food joint or what. But, she decided to go with her.

“Great! C’mon, let’s go,” Vinyl exclaimed.

“Just let me get changed,” Octavia said, making her way down the hall.”

Vinyl sighed with impatience. She picked up her keys when there was another sudden shriek of terror, this time, coming from Octavia’s room.

“Vinyl, help! Another bug! Kill it!!”

Vinyl sighed once again. “Oh come on, Octy, it’s a goddamn cockroach!” Vinyl went to save her damsel in distress.

The restaurant was only 20 minutes from Vinyl’s apartment. It was quite fancy for a Fillydelphia restaurant, Octavia thought. The red curtains were only some-what dirty, the red table clothes smelled like they were recently washed- not well, but washed- and the cousins the two were sitting on felt like sitting on sand bags. The two mares had a conversation over the Crystal Empire, which Vinyl was tired of hearing of now-a-days. The topic toke a turn when the food finally arrived and it was now all about Vinyl.

“So, Vinyl, last time I heard, you’re working with the police department,” Octavia started.

“Oh, you bet,” Vinyl muffled with her mouth full of mashed potatoes with gravy. Bits flew across the table and almost hit Octavia on the other side.

“But, you went to college to be a… what was it called…” Octavia’s voice trailed into thought.

“Disk jockey,” Vinyl reminded her.

“Oh yes, that. What happened?”

“Well,” Vinyl toke her napkin and wiped her mouth, “I’d rather not get into that story.”

Octavia was a little shocked, knowing Vinyl loves to talk, let alone about herself. “Why not?”

“I-I-it’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

“But I’m curious.”

“Well, don’t be.”

The table was quiet for a moment. Vinyl was poking her food with her fork. Octavia could tell something was wrong here. She leaned in, so no one could hear.

“Listen, Vinyl,” she started calmly. “I’ve been your friend for two years now. You can tell me anything.” Vinyl wasn’t budging. She just kept her head down. “Vinyl. Hey. Look at me.”

Vinyl raised her head to see her friend; her best friend, staring back at her with those trusting eyes of hers. Vinyl exhaled deeply.

“I might have been caught… doing things.”

“Things?”

“Bad things.”

Octavia finally realized what was going on. “Oh, I see. Um, well, if you don’t mind, we can talk about it.”

Vinyl grunted. “Back when I was a teenager, when I was working with my father.”

“So, the FPD,” Octavia started.

“Are keeping me out of prison by working for them,” Vinyl finished.

Octavia wished she hadn’t asked. Vinyl had told her about her life of crime during her teenage years, but eventually smartening up to go to school, which her father didn’t agree with.

“H-hey, don’t worry about me. All that criminal stuff is behind me,” Vinyl assured. “I mean, yeah I screwed up back there and I have a huge criminal record that will follow me until the day I die, but hey! I’ll be ok.” She chuckled a bit.

Octavia couldn’t see how Vinyl could be happy about all that. But, she could see that it was a fake smile on her face, so she gave her her sympathy.

The rest of the night went on like the conversation never happened. Vinyl gave Octavia a tour of Fillydelphia, showing her the town hall, the marketplace, Chinatown, and lastly, the night club Vinyl goes to play music on weekends.

“C’mon Octy, it’ll be fun,” Vinyl urged, trying to get Octavia in the night club.

“No way,” Octavia argued. “That place is full of creeps and drunks.”

“Can’t forget the drug addicts,” Vinyl chuckled.

Octavia still wasn’t budging.

“Look, just stick with me and you’ll be fine. Now c’mon,” Vinyl signaled her friend over to the bouncer standing guard at the front entrance, “they know me here.”

The big Earth Pony loomed over Vinyl and Octavia. Octavia cowered behind her friend, hoping he wouldn’t see her. The bouncer eyed Vinyl and lazily looked over Octavia. She hid in her fuzzy designer coat she had bought in Canterlot months back. She noticed Vinyl with her usual cocky smile looking up at the giant, at which then he smiled back with a serious smile.

“Vinyl Scratch,” he exclaimed. “Go right on in!” The bouncer stepped aside to let the two mares in.

Vinyl happily trotted in with Octavia right behind her.

The loud pounding from the music was heard. Octavia couldn’t make out the song or what instruments were used. She had a feeling in her gut that coming here was a bad idea once the two entered the hub. There was a bar to their right, which seemed to be serving nothing but alcoholic beverages. There were tables surrounded by cheap wooden walls to make them appear as stalls filled with ponies snorting coke, getting drunk and anything else that made Octavia feel uncomfortable. And the music was unbearable to her. It sounded like multiple blenders in a laundry dryer mixed in with unfamiliar violin music and that music ponies use in remixes of famous songs that Vinyl shows her on the Internet. The ponies on the dance floor were dancing along to the rhythm of the loud music, not a care in the world.

Octavia stood closer to her escort, who was dancing a bit in her place, a sign that she was really getting into the music.

“C’mon, Octy,” vinyl shouted, trying to compete with the music’s volume with her own voice, “I’ll show you the VIP area!”

Octavia thought the VIP area would be more sophisticated than down here, so she went along with her. She followed Vinyl to a staircase beside the bar and she stopped right in front of another huge pony blocking the staircase going up. This one was a Pegasus.

“Hey, Ascended,” Vinyl yelled.

“Heeey, there she is! Our main mare,” the giant Pegasus exclaimed happily. “Good to see you! You ‘n you’re friend headin’ up?”

Vinyl nodded and the Pegasus let them through. Octavia just looked at the security guard and ran to her friend who was already halfway up the stairs. It led them to this balcony that overlooked the rest of the club. Octavia saw a table surrounded by soft chairs and a couch where ponies occupied them, laughing and having a good time.

“Hey all,” Vinyl called, walking over to the group.

One Pegasus pony who was warring a purple hoodie which appeared a bit too big on her got up and exclaimed, “Hey, hey! Scratch, you made it!” Vinyl and the mare exchanged a hug, at which then she noticed Octavia standing at a distance.

“Whoa, Scratch,” the Pegasus said in a serious tone, letting Vinyl go, “You think we’re gonna let you hang out with us,” she hesitated, “without telling us who your friend is!” A smile which could only be found on a filly formed on her face.

She trotted toward Octavia and walked a full 360 circle around her. “Hmm…” The stranger brushed her blue mane away from her colored eyes and put a hoof on her chin in thought. She went around her again and slapped her flank.

Octavia let out a squeak of surprise, the force making her stumble a bit, but maintained her balance.

The mare smirked. “Nice ass!” She saw that Octavia’s face was bright red and it was not from the flashing lights of the night club. She hid her face in her fuzzy coat again.

“Knock it off, Lara,” Vinyl urged, putting her hoof around her Canterlot friend. “She’s my girlfriend, you know.” She gave her a mischievous smile.

At this point, Octavia wished she was back at Vinyl’s apartment with the cockroaches. She was pretty sure half of these ponies have a criminal record or even had weapons on them right there and judging from her welcome, she’d rather take her chances with the cockroaches.

First off, she wanted to set Vinyl’s comment straight.

“I-I’m not her girlfriend. We’re just friends,” Octavia explained nervously, escaping Vinyl’s grasp.

“So, which way do you go?” Lara asked, examining her again, this time, just the front side. “You definitely don’t look

lesbian. Maybe you’re bi? Do I attract you?”

“Lara, quit torturing the poor thing,” an Earth Pony said, walking up to her.

The stallion wore an open leather jacket which read, “The Vibe MC” on the back. The sewn on tag near the collar read “Vice

President” in small text in Times New Roman.

“I gotta get out of here anyway,” he informed to Lara. He leaned in and the two exchanged whispers and he toke off afterward. Octavia looked at him as he left the area.

Vinyl chuckled, “Who was that?”

“Oh him? Nah, he’s nobody, just a co-worker,” Lara explained. “C’mon, sit with us!”

Vinyl and Octavia toke a seat on the couch next to Lara, who immediately toke a bendy straw from the table and snorted the white powder in front of her. The row was gone in three seconds flat. She held her nose and shut her eyes tightly, waiting for the sensation to end.

“Whew!” Lara yelled, snapping out of her fatigue. She handed Vinyl the straw, “you up for it, Scratch?”

Vinyl pushed Lara’s hoof away from her, shaking her head and laughing, “No way! I’m not going through rehab again!”

The whole group laughed, but Octavia, who was sitting quietly, tried not to attract any attention from these weirdoes Vinyl called “friends.”

“Hey, what about you?” Lara looked past Vinyl to look at Octavia.

She then noticed that the whole group was staring at her, waiting for a response.

“Uhm, no,” Octavia replied politely. The music drowned out her voice.

“What?” Lara asked.

“I said, ‘no’,” Octavia shouted, this time being heard over the club’s music. She noticed she sounded a little angry.

The group of ponies continued to stare. Even Vinyl was looking at her strangely. The Canterlot pony just hid in her fuzzy coat once again.

“So, what’d you think?” Vinyl asked, hanging her hoodie up on the coat rack back at her apartment.

“Huh? What!?” Octavia was still a little deaf after hearing the electronic music for three hours straight. Her ears were ringing all the way back to Vinyl’s place and there’s no sign of them stopping.

Vinyl couldn’t help but laugh a little. She could tell Octavia was really annoyed at her and from the way she walked down the hallway, she was about to pass out as well.

Octavia’s eyes were heavy and the bags under them were noticeable. She could hardly stand straight. Vinyl grabbed her arm and put it around her, “C’mon, Octy, you can make it,” and started escorting her down to her room.

Vinyl helped Octavia into bed. She just laid her on her back; her usual neat hairstyle was a mess and was spread out under her. Vinyl thought she looked adorable. Octavia opened her eyes a little to only see the silhouette of the pony that put her through such a horrible night.

“Hey… Vinyl?” she mumbled.

“What is it, Octy?” Vinyl replied, smiling. Octavia couldn’t hear her, but knew what she said.

I hate yo…” Her voice turned to mumbles and she slipped into a deep sleep; sleep she really needed after the hell she’s been through that night.

“Heh heh, I know,” Vinyl said softly.

She kissed her sleepy friend on the forehead and put her hoof on her cheek. “Good night. Sorry I put you through hell…”

Vinyl turned off the lamp and exited the room, closing the door slowly to try not to make a sound. The door clicked shut behind her.

Chapter 4: The Cardinal's Nest: Act 1

Hella Fire drove down the concrete slant into the underground parking lot. He turned his car off, grabbed his suitcase and stepped out of it. Multiple lights were placed around close to the ceiling that made the lot glow orange. The car door slammed shut behind the young pony, causing the noise to echo all around the place. He inhaled the familiar smells of the parking lot: gasoline, cigarette smoke and some of the wet air coming from outside as it rained. He threw the suitcase onto his back and started around the pillar from his car.

“Hey oh, Hella Fire,” a random voice called out.

He looked around the empty parking lot confused until his eyes met with a mare’s who was wearing a grey hoodie and her mane was wild and hardly tamed. He was more confused at how she knew his name.

“Who the hell are you?” Hella call out.

The pony started to slowly approach him and started to explain, “My name is Vinyl Scratch. I’m here for Robin Green. You should have some sort of info to give him or?” Her voice trailed off.

“Green sent yah?” Hella chuckled.

“Really, he did. See?” She tokes out a piece of paper out of her sweater pocket and flew it over and stopped it right in front of Hella’s face so he could read it. It read:

Hella Fire,

I’m sending my messenger, Vinyl Scratch, over in my place to pick up the files today. Make sure she’s not followed, she’s new. And also, I request the Cardinal’s ammunition and business files. I believe the Blue Jays are up to no good and they’re planning to strike the gangs at any time, so it’d be best to look over your plans to counterattack.

-Robin Green.

Hella Fire looked over the note. “Well, he definitely wrote this. The Blue Jays are trying to merk us? Alright rookie, listen up.”

“I’m all ears,” Vinyl said.

Hella toke the suitcase off his back and casually slid it towards Vinyl. “Inside this briefcase are our files for ammunition sales, drug sales, really any kind of business deals we have. It appears District 4 is the place for a good deal with teenagers when it comes to drugs. But unfortunately, we can’t really give you the 20% the Hummingbirds earned.”

“Oh yeah, why’s that?” Vinyl asked, looking through the business charts and photos in the case.

“Apparently, our sales have dropped a dramatic 37% in all districts of the city, besides the 4th. Aqua Marine said that a small gang called, the Jets are stealing our profits.”

Vinyl stopped to look at Hella with a confused look. “Who’s Aqua Marine?”

“Oh, that’s some pony who works with us Cardinals. She’s supposed to be in strong relations with our boss, but I never met her.”

“And who would be your boss?”

Hella leaned in closer and practically whispered, “I have no idea. Hardly any pony in the Cardinals knows. Only ponies high in the ranks know who she is.”

The two of them didn’t say a thing. It was quiet. Only the hum from the radiator could be heard. Hella started to slowly back away towards his car.

“This’s all the info you need. Make sure Green gets this briefcase. You can’t let this get into the wrong hooves, rookie!” Hella instructed, before running into his car.

Vinyl just put the photos back into the briefcase and placed it on her back with her magic. She suddenly heard the rumble of a car engine starting up. She saw that Hella Fire was backing out and starting to drive out of the parking lot. Vinyl started after him.

“Hey!” she shouted after him. She immediately stopped when she knew she wasn’t stopping him. She sighed when the car disappeared and walked back to her own car. She opened it and sat down in her leather seats and placed the briefcase on the passenger seat next to her. Vinyl toke out her cell phone from her hoodie and punched in the number 2, which was speed dial for the precinct, and hit talk. It rang a few times before Lt. Scarlet picked up.

“Vinyl,” Scarlet answered.

“Listen lieutenant, I’ve got all of our answers in this here briefcase. Plus, I’ve got a name,” Vinyl quickly explained.

“Really, who is it?”

“Hella Fire mentioned an Aqua Marine. She’s supposed to be in strong relations with the Cardinal’s boss. But, when I asked who their boss was, he didn’t know.”

“What!? Of course he has to know!”

“Apparently not. And he got away before I got any other answers out of him.”

Lt. Scarlet searched through her draw of folders. “I remember Harry talking about Aqua Marine before. He said that- aha!” Scarlet fished out a folder labeled, “Suspect #80: Aqua Marine.”

She placed it on her desk and searched through it until she found a certain photo. “Harry said that he believes that Sapphire Shores made the acquaintance of Aqua Marine. He also believes that Sapphire Shores has info on Marine to help us crack the case of who runs the Cardinals.” She held up an autographed photo of Sapphire Shores in the light to get a better look. She placed it down and picked up another picture of a hotel. “She’s on her tour around the country and she’s currently staying at the Dynasty Hotel down in the 4th district. You can find her there.”

Vinyl thought this was enough information she needed. “Thanks Lieutenant.” She hung up and placed her phone back in her hoodie. She started the car and it started up with a nice, smooth hum.

Vinyl could see that this case was probably far from over, yet she could see a little white light at the end of this long, dark tunnel known as the streets of Fillydelphia. She one day hopes that when she retires from being a cop, she’ll move to the quiet town of Ponyville and spend the rest of her days there, instead of her crappy little apartment she lives in now. She also wants to leave the Fillydelphia streets, because she knows that her hometown will always be one of the most dangerous cities in Equestria to live in.

She turned the corner into Wingset St. where the Dynasty Hotel was located, only to see a limo parked just outside the building. Vinyl pulled over and parked on the opposite side of the street. As she got out, Sapphire Shores was just exiting the hotel and approaching the limo. Vinyl thought it was time and she started to approach her and called out, “Sapphire Shores?”

Sapphire stopped as she heard her name and she looked up to see a mare standing right next to her limo with her wild mane and a smile on her face. The gray hoodie she was wearing appeared that she was from this city. Sapphire just thought she was another fan.

“I need a word with you about a mare named, Aqua Marine,” Vinyl went on.

Sapphire now knew she wasn’t just a fan, she was a reporter. If not, then she must have to be-

“Listen, I’m a very busy pony. So if you’re a reporter, I-“

Vinyl cut her off. “Vinyl Scratch, Fillydelphia police.” She flashed her police badge she hid in her hoodie. Sapphire scanned it for a quick second. It looked official- actually, she was certain it was official.

“I see. You’re the first cop to approach me about my good friend, Aqua.” Sapphire stopped and examined Vinyl. She looked like just the pony to get stuff done quickly, she thought. “Listen here, I’ll tell you everything I know, but first, I want you to do something for me.”

Vinyl wanted to get all of the info out of Sapphire, so she would do just about anything to know about this “Aqua Marine” and the Red Cardinals.

“Alright, what you got?” Vinyl agreed.

Sapphire Shores wrapped her forearm around Vinyl’s neck and pointed down the road. “See that pony down there?” Vinyl looked hard down the road and did see an Earth Pony on the corner. He had a saddle bag and appeared to be talking with another pony that quickly retreated into the alley. “That bum there is dealing drugs to other bums and teenagers. I can’t stand ponies that do that. I’ve repeatedly called up the police to get rid of him, but all they do is say they’ll get to it, but don’t do a thing. I want you to get rid of him. And don’t just shoo him away like your fellow officers. I mean take him down, permanently.”

She let Vinyl go. Vinyl looked down at the dealer on the corner, turned back to Sapphire and nodded, “Aiight, it’s a deal. But don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”

She started down the road toward the dealer. All she needed to do was kill this guy and Sapphire Shores will tell her everything she needs to know, right? Even though killing perps is only necessary if you’re under fire, Vinyl knows what will happen if Lt. Scarlet and Harry Tail finds out about this. But she’ll take the punishment with no fuss.

“Ay yo, man! What yah got?” Vinyl called to the dealer as she got closer.

The dirty Earth Pony looked up with a sinister grin. “Yo, what you need girl? Grass, rock, snow? Or what?” the dealer asked, rummaging through his bag.

Vinyl immediately pulled out her gun and police badge, letting it dangle from her neck and exclaimed, “For you to bounce the hell out of here and don’t look back!”

“Shit! You a cop?!? Get out of here!” The dealer toke out a pistol from his saddle bag and before he could point it at her, Vinyl shot him twice in the chest. He backed into the wall, his eyes wide and he slumped down to the ground, dead.

Vinyl suddenly heard shouts and mumbles of anger and curiosity coming from the alley next to her. A group of ponies appeared and looked around and saw Vinyl standing over the shot dealer.

“What the hell?? It’s a cop! Go, Go!!” The group disappeared into the alley. Vinyl followed them, thinking there was more to come.

Sure enough, the group was taking cover behind dumpsters and any other trash. She quickly toke cover behind an old, ripped sofa before any shots were fired. She looked over the top of it and a bullet zipped past her head. She ducked and peered over the side and shot off a bullet towards one of the dumpsters. She ended up hitting one and he fell over. Another shot was fired and nearly hit Vinyl. She retreated back behind the sofa. She toke a deep breath. She was going to do something that could kill her there and now. But, she needed this info and what was happening now was getting her nowhere. She came out from hiding and shot at the remaining ponies. To her surprise, they were all hit. Was she that good of a shot, she wondered. She was always praised for that back at the precinct.

She headed back to the limo where Sapphire Shores was sitting in the back. Sapphire’s chauffeur allowed her to enter the limo. Vinyl got in and saw a very satisfied Sapphire Shores waiting for her.

“That dealer? Heh, he ain’t coming back. You have my word on that,” Vinyl explained.

“You have quite the willpower for a cop,” Sapphire commented. “But you’re going to need a lot more than willpower to take down the Cardinals. They’re an army.”

“Yeah, well, we have plenty of info on their group. What about Aqua Marine?” Vinyl asked.

Sapphire toke a sip of champagne before saying: “Aqua Marine and I have been friends for years. She tells me she set up a nice house right here in the 4th district,” Sapphire explained.

“Probably to keep a close eye on business. So, where do I find her?”

Sapphire toke another sip of champagne, “That, I can’t tell you. She won’t tell me. Apparently, if anypony knows, the cops will be all over her ass.”

“I can see why,” Vinyl mumbled, loud enough for Sapphire to here.

“Well, all she tells me is that there’s this certain gang, called the Jets, who keeps stealing her drug sale business all over the city. If you could get rid of them or something, I’m sure Aqua will be most pleased.” Sapphire sipped the last of her champagne before finishing with: “I’ll let her know what’s up.”

Vinyl thought about it, but she agreed, “Where do I start?”

Sapphire chuckled, “That’s the spirit! Now, over on the harbor, one of the Jet’s drug dens should be located on pier 2, warehouse 1. I suggest you remain unnoticed, or they will kill you. They don’t take so kindly towards Unicorns. Or anypony who’s not a Pegasus, really.”

“I’m very aware of that,” Vinyl said, stepping out of the limo.

“Make sure you take down the gang’s leader: Ice Breaker,” Sapphire quickly added.

“Arrested or…”

“I don’t care! Just get him off the streets!” The door slammed shut and the chauffeur got in the driver’s seat and drove off.

Vinyl went back to the precinct, only to get a warm welcome from none other than Harry Tail. He had heard from Scarlet of what she did today and he knew he made the right decision in choosing her for the job. Now, all he needed was to figure out who Aqua Marine is, so he can take down the Red Cardinals once and for all.

“Get going, detective. Have the rest of the day off,” Harry said, patting her on the back.

“Alrightly then,” Vinyl replied, yawning shortly after. She was tired after a long day of major police work. She picked up her gun off of the chief’s desk, stuffed it in her hoodie and walked out of the building towards home.